Wednesday 29 September 2010 15.44 EDT
First published on Wednesday 29 September 2010 15.44 EDT

Padraig Harrington has defended his selection as a wild card but insisted he does not need to apologise for Colin Montgomerie's decision to include him in the Europe Ryder Cup team for Celtic Manor.

Harrington has won three majors but has not claimed any titles since the US PGA in 2008. Among those players the Irishman edged out were Justin Rose, who has won twice on the US tour this season, and the world No7, Paul Casey.

Harrington, who is ranked 22, said: "Defend myself, yes. Apologise, certainly not. There's no doubt Paul Casey and Justin Rose are good enough to be on our Ryder Cup Team. This year we had a lot of players who didn't make the team. It really just comes down to personal preference, the team captain – how he sees it.

"Justin Rose has won twice this year and going into the FedEx Cup final [last weekend] had a genuine chance of being player of the year in the States. [It would have been] incredible to have the player of the year and [him] not make our team.

"Certainly, I do have to defend my position, but you know, things like apologising and those sort of things, they don't have a place in golf here. You're putting your neck on the line every time. You have to take responsibility for that."

Harrington also admitted that he was weary going into the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla – which Europe lost under Nick Faldo's leadership – having also retained the Open title that season.

"I was tired that week. I was on a little bit of a downer and it was a much tougher week," he said. "It's hard in any given year – you know, the majors and the Ryder Cup. But when you come in off highs it is just hard. Physically, your body is not ready for it. The majors take too much out of you in the summer. I have to look back on it and say, I just couldn't. I was just flagging.

"You tended to want to do your own thing, whereas this week I'm very much amongst the team and I want to help out as much as I can. I'm trying to talk to the rookies, especially the rookies, and try and give them as much advice as I can, as much confidence as I can.

"I'm definitely much more proactive about what I'm doing maybe than I would have [been] in past years. I want to make sure I give as much back as I can this week, both off the course and on the golf course. It's been a good couple of days, and really now, it is really winding down now to get ready for the tournament on Friday."